Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Gobi Manchurian Dry(Crispy Cauliflower Florets in a mildly hot sauce)

The moment my family lands in a restaurant the first dish to order will be gobi manchurian dry or chilli gobi.My son loves it too.The spicy sauce on the outside with a crispy cauliflower core is something I relish a lot.I like my gobi manchurian to be spicy but as my kid likes it and does not like very spicy stuff I made it less spicy. Once I went to a resort and had gobi manchurian dry and even after an hour the gobi manchurian remained crispy coated with the sauce and as usual I was curious to know the method and got to know from the chef that it was first fried in a oil at a lower temperature and then after some time again it is fried for a second time in the oil at a higher temperature.Thus frying twice gives this cauliflower a crispy texture for long time i.e. even after it cools down or sauteed in sauce.(But I fried once as we were ready to eat immediately after it is prepared.)

Ingredients:

For Gobi 65/frying the cauliflower florets:

Cauliflower-500 gms

Corn flour-1/4 cup

Rice flour -1/4 cup

All purpose flour/Maida-1/4 cup

Salt-to taste

Pepper powder-1 tsp

Chilli powder-1/2 tsp(optional)

Oil-to deep fry

For the sauce:

Oil-2 tbsp

Chopped onion-1 no

Chopped capsicum-1 small no

Chopped garlic-7 pods

Finely chopped spring onion-1/4 cup

Green chillies-3 no(adjust according to your need)

Vinegar-1 tbsp

Tomato Ketchup-3 tbsp

Soy sauce-2 tbsp

Procedure:

Gobi 65/Crispy Cauliflower florets:

1.Clean the cauliflower and soak them in hot water with salt to remove worms if any.Then drain the cauliflower and place them in a bowl.Add all the other dry ingredients for frying the cauliflower and mix them well so that the flours coat the cauliflower uniformly.If necessary add little water but not too much.

2.Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the cauliflower at a medium heat until they turn golden brown on outside and cooked inside.Drain them on a kitchen paper towel.

For the sauce:

3.Grind green chillies along with vinegar to a fine paste.Keep all the vegetables ready for the sauce.

4.Heat oil in a pan and add the finely chopped garlic.Once they are sauteed add the chopped onion and fry them till they are transparent.

5.Once the onion is done add the chopped capsicum and suate for 2 mins.Then add the tomato sauce,chilli-vinegar paste and soy sauce to it.

6.After a minute add the deep fried cauliflower florets to this sauce and saute them on high flame.Mix well and then add the chopped spring onions and switch off the flame.

7.Serve hot as a starter or as a side course with fried rice or noodles.

Tips:

*I ran out of soy sauce and the nearby shops didn't have so went ahead with out it.But adding soy sauce is essential for an enhanced flavour and taste.

*I deep fried the cauliflower only once as we were about to eat as soon as it was prepared.But as said above you can deep fry twice for a longer crispy texture.

*Do not discard the shallots that come along with the spring onion.Chop them and use it along with the onions for the sauce.

*The sauce has to be prepared in high flame as done for other Chinese dishes.

*I omitted food colour,but if you wish you can add it to the flours before deep frying the cauliflower.